From Fujitsu to RAMXEED, the new generation of FeRAM meets the needs of edge intelligence for high-reliability and latency-free data storage

Application of FeRAM in encoder field

3. From BMS, TBOX to driving recorders, fully enabling key automotive data storage

Automotive electronics require specially designed storage solutions to ensure reliability and performance due to their unique working environment and strict requirements. Traditional storage solutions are often challenged by cost issues, especially in the use of EEPROM and NOR Flash. In contrast, due to the higher added value in the field of new energy vehicles and the more active adoption of innovative storage technologies, Fujitsu has carried out a lot of market development and is committed to providing advanced storage solutions that meet the needs of automotive electronics. Taking BMS as an example, each battery chip needs to record various data and maintain consistency. The recorded data includes the battery's SOC, the state of SOH, and information on battery life and charge and discharge cycles. For such applications, the required memory must support high-speed and frequent write operations. Two years ago, Europe announced that it would implement a "battery passport" system, stipulating that from 2027, all batteries entering the European market must hold a "battery passport" that meets the requirements. Feng Yixin believes that in the field of new energy, especially in the Chinese market, battery recycling and secondary use have become increasingly important. In the future, if we want to align with international standards and realize the passage of battery passports, we must rely on high-performance storage technology as a support. FeRAM is the only storage solution that can promote the battery passport system.

Application of FeRAM in automotive electronics

"Due to strong market demand, automotive-grade products have undergone many upgrades in the past two years. In the past, new energy battery packs, battery management systems (BMS), vehicle-mounted communication terminals (TBOX), driving recorders, and even advanced tire pressure monitoring systems usually required the use of SPI interfaces that comply with the AEC-Q100 standard. In recent years, there has also been demand for automotive-grade products with I2C interfaces in the market. For this reason, we have specially supplemented and improved our product line. At present, we can not only provide large-capacity storage of up to 1Mbit, but also achieve miniaturized packaging." Feng Yixin added.

4. From medical applications to ships and engineering, ReRAM has achieved all-round deployment

Hearing aids are worth mentioning in the medical field. There is a lookup table in the hearing aid that is used to store customized data based on personal hearing and language ability. After wearing the hearing aid, the device will read this data to help the user restore normal hearing levels. "Currently, there are only a few manufacturers in the world that can achieve mass production of ReRAM. Fujitsu has accumulated more than ten years of rich experience in this field and has become a supplier to the largest hearing aid company in Europe." Feng Yixin said, "Now, we are also actively exploring the wearable device market and are committed to further development."

ReRAM in hearing aids

In addition, the application scope of Fujitsu's FeRAM and ReRAM has also extended to multiple fields, including the intelligent upgrade of ships, engineering and agricultural machinery, the experience innovation of gaming and entertainment equipment, and the optimization of data centers for cloud computing. In building automation and communication infrastructure, these technologies also play an important role, improving the efficiency and reliability of the system. In addition, the enhanced security of tags and smart cards, as well as the functional expansion of wearable devices, are also due to the contribution of FeRAM and ReRAM. Feng Yixin's sharing of these diverse applications also demonstrated the extensive influence of these two storage technologies in promoting the advancement of modern science and technology.

High speed and large capacity: the next generation FeRAM product iteration path is clear

FeRAM is relatively small in the market, mainly due to two bottlenecks: one is its limited capacity, the current maximum capacity is only 8Mbit; the other is the high cost, which limits its wider application. "As for how to achieve large capacity in the future, the usual practice is to expand the capacity by stacking multiple cells on the existing 8Mbit through stacking technology. For example, stacking two cells can reach 16Mbit, and stacking four cells can reach 32Mbit." Feng Yixin shared, "In terms of speed, MRAM and SRAM are usually 35 nanoseconds (ns), while Fujitsu's fastest FeRAM is currently 120ns. Looking ahead, we plan to achieve speed improvements in the next generation of technology, with the goal of shortening the product's response time to 35ns."

At the end of the speech, Feng Yixin shared Fujitsu's future plans, which mainly include two aspects: First, for the SRAM+battery combination, given the market's environmentally friendly and low-carbon requirements for battery management, the development direction of storage will be to eliminate dependence on batteries. Secondly, for the SRAM+EEPROM (or NVSRAM) combination, the configuration is similar to FeRAM, and existing mass-produced FeRAM products can also be replaced, but the new generation of high-speed FeRAM can meet the same high-speed write requirements as SRAM. Feng Yixin said that future research and development work will closely follow market demand and strive to further improve the speed performance of FeRAM. At the same time, it will also promote the development of Quad (four-wire) SPI products to meet the special needs of application fields such as game consoles and high-end factory automation that have higher requirements for data transmission rates. Through these technological innovations, Fujitsu aims to provide customers with faster response times and higher data processing capabilities, thereby promoting the development of related industries and technological progress.

Fujitsu's high-speed parallel interface FeRAM